First time with buckets

[lieu]

Hello All,
I just got these two juice buckets today from a local veg/fruit market. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with these particular buckets?
What I do know about these two buckets is that one is a Cab. and the other is a Merlot. The juice is from California and was never frozen. ( I dont know if that makes any difference or not).
What I have done so far is added 1/2 a tsp of k-meta to each bucket to stop any fermentation from the natural yeasts. I am going to add yeast from George and I am also going to add a Cab grape pac to the Cab bucket probably on Wednesday if I get them . I am also going to add oak to both these buckets.

 

[ibglowin]

Nice! Why no grape pack love for the Merlot! You could have added a cab grape pack to it as well. Are these balanced in any way? Did you get any numbers on them yet?

 

[Wade E]

Im sorry but Im not fond of juice bukets myself. Ive found that kits usually come out better. Grapes are the way to go then kits IMO. These buckets require lots of tweaks to get them comparable to the other products. I made a few including that brand and wasnt happy at all. Hopefully you have much better results.

 

[lieu]

Hey Mike,
What I was going to do when I ordered the grape pac from george was get 2 Cab buckets and do a little experiment. 1 bucket with the pac and the other without. I didnt really think about adding a cab pac to the Merlot. I kind of wish I thought of it now. When I picked up the buckets there were no more buckets available so my
plan got squished anyway. As far as balanced the bucket does say that it is "blended and balanced by our oenologists". The numbers on the buckets were Balling 22 Acid .5, and SO2 was 100 ppm. I dropped my hydrometer in both buckets and the cab was 1.090 and the Merlot was 1.080.

 

[lieu]

Hey Wade,
Hopefully I can get a wine that I can half way enjoy. These buckets were only about 55 bucks each so I'm not into them for all that much. It will be fun trying. Any suggestions on any tweaks?
on another note- been wetting any lines lately?

 

[ibglowin]

Well this way you should be able to tell the difference between a bucket with no grape pack and one with. You can always add a pound of the organic red flame raisins from whole foods etc. I think they do improve mouthfeel a good bit. Cost is pretty cheap as well.

 

[ibglowin]

Also some Tancor Grand Cru down the road would help out a bit as well with a nice tannin boost.

 

[Wade E]

I agree the Tancor tannins are a big improvement. Ive never tried the red flame raisins but it should help also. Either that or the grape skin packs.

 

[Tom]

Agree on adding more tannin.
raisins will help with body as well as making a bananna soup.
I do juice buckets and find I like at least 2 cups of med toast oak.

 

[lieu]

Hello All,

Just a few more questions, Mike What do you mean by down the road re: the TanCor Grand Cru.I have never heard or seen anything about this product. Is this something that you add at the end of the process?

I am getting the raisins tomorrow. Should I add the raisins and the Grand Cru?

tepe, Have you ever had this particular brand before?

 

[ibglowin]

Tancor is a post fermentation finishing tannin so it get added afterwards while your bulk aging. George carries it here.

 

[Tom]

Yes I have heard of them (Regina) I think Running Wolf (DAN) uses them


Raisins should be added while the yeast is working. So primary is OK.

 

[lieu]

Thanks guys, Will keep you posted.-Bruce

 

[lieu]

OK Just a quick few question. I am soaking the raisins in H2O right now. Do i throw the raisins in whole or should I crush them at all?

Also, does everyone agree with the directions on theFermax Yeast Nutrient that says 1 tsp per gallon? and how about the directions on the Pectic Enzyme bottle that says .5 tsp per gallon 1 hour before start of fermentation. Thanks in advance-Bruce

 

[ibglowin]

Why are you soaking the raisins? Toss em into the primary! I have done both ways, corse chop and whole either way worked just fine.

 

[Tom]

Ditto!
Just toss them in!

 

[lieu]

Well I added the yeast nutrient and the enzyme last night then added the yeast that I rehydrated as per the instructions an hour later. I added the grape pac and the raisins at this time also. Woke up this am and NOTHING. The must is 72-74 degrees. Should I be concerned? I have seen threads on here were the must is bubbling away 5-6 hrs after pitching the yeast. this has been 11 hrs.

 

[Tom]

Relax


Sometimes it can take 24+ hours to get going. I bet later today it will be going.

 

[lieu]

Phew. Ok I was hoping someone would say somehing to that effect. The kits that I have done in the past have always been bubbling away the next morning.One more question. I have seen some things that say to add oak to primary and some things that say to add to secondary. I have both American and Hungarian cubes from George. Any suggestions.

 

[ibglowin]

Cubes are always added in secondary and or bulk aging time frame as they will be in there for weeks and perhaps months depending on how much oak you want/like. Any oak that gets added in primary is something like an oak sawdust or shavings that will give up the goods in a week or less.